Agency workers and the 12 week rule: equal treatment explained
6 minute read · 2026-10-08
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, once you have worked 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer, you are entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as if the hirer had taken you on directly: the same pay, the same working time, rest and night work rules, and the same annual leave. Some rights apply from your first day.
How the 12 weeks are counted
Regulation 7 sets the rules:
- Any week in which you work at least part of a day counts as a whole week. One shift a week for 12 weeks qualifies.
- The weeks must be in the same role with the same hirer. Moving to a substantively different role, and being told so in writing, restarts the count.
- A break of six calendar weeks or less pauses the clock; when you return, the count carries on.
- A break of more than six weeks restarts the count, except for certain reasons.
- Some breaks pause the clock even if longer: sickness or injury (up to 28 weeks), annual leave, jury service, and a workplace shutdown such as Christmas.
- Pregnancy, childbirth and maternity, and adoption, paternity and shared parental leave, count as if you had worked.
The regulations also stop hirers and agencies structuring assignments to avoid the 12 weeks, for example by rotating people through roles or arranging repeated breaks. If that happens, a tribunal can award extra compensation.
What "equal treatment" covers
From week 13 the comparison is with what you would have had if recruited directly to the same job (regulation 5):
- pay, including shift allowances, overtime rates, holiday pay and bonuses linked to your own performance;
- duration of working time, night work, rest periods and breaks;
- annual leave.
It does not cover occupational sick pay, occupational pensions, enhanced redundancy or maternity pay, or bonuses that are not linked to your own work. Since 6 April 2020 agencies can no longer opt out of equal pay by employing agency workers on a "pay between assignments" contract.
From day one
- Shared facilities: canteen, childcare, transport, and the like, on the same terms as staff (regulation 12), unless the hirer can justify a difference.
- Job vacancies: you must be told about relevant permanent vacancies at the hirer (regulation 13).
- Everything a worker gets anyway: minimum wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, a written statement, no fees for finding work, and a key information document before you agree terms.
Asking for the information
If you think you are not getting equal treatment, you can ask the agency in writing for information about the basic conditions of comparable directly recruited staff. It must reply within 28 days. If it does not, you can ask the hirer, which also has 28 days. Keep copies of what you send.
Who this applies to
The regulations cover Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own Agency Workers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011, with similar rules. They do not apply if you are genuinely self-employed, or if the agency is only introducing you for a permanent job (then the hirer is your employer).
What to do next
- Count your weeks. A simple diary of the weeks you worked, and any breaks with their reasons, is the best evidence.
- Check your assignment paperwork. Ours is set out at assignment confirmation and terms of engagement.
- For the wider picture of agency pay, umbrella companies and holiday, read agency work explained.
- GOV.UK: agency workers: your rights. ACAS: agency workers.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ACAS (0300 123 1100) is free.
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